


Something Unquestionably Bold

by hope_in_the_dark



Series: A Careful Kind of Something ‘Verse [2]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Established Relationship, Gen, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, Secrets Revealed, Softness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 12:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19723690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope_in_the_dark/pseuds/hope_in_the_dark
Summary: This follows immediately after Chapter 20 of "A Careful Kind of Something," so if you haven't read that, this won't make much sense (sorry)Ezra's family find out about Crowley's family situation, and Ezra does some deep thinking.





	Something Unquestionably Bold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [delusioninabox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/delusioninabox/gifts).



> For my dear delusioninabox, who was so supportive of me and ACKoS and who requested this missing scene. I hope you enjoy it, dear! 
> 
> As always: my lovely readers, thanks for your time, attention, and support. Kudos and comments are of course appreciated, and if you have any missing scenes you'd like to see, let me know and I'll try to get to them!
> 
> Heads up for language and (very mild) homophobia.

They were late for dinner, which was due in part to Crowley’s tendency to pull over and start snogging Ezra until he forced himself to stop and in part to Ezra’s affinity for stroking the leg of Crowley’s jeans until Crowley did so, but they weren’t going to share that information with Ezra’s family. They’d been scolded (gently by Ezra’s mum and not-gently by his dad) and had taken the dressing-down in stride, unwilling to let anything dull the joy of Crowley’s decision to follow Ezra to Oxford.

The normal how-was-your-day dinner conversation lasted all of five minutes before Ezra couldn’t stop himself from sharing the good news. “Hey,” he said, interrupting Gabe’s truly riveting story about a particularly annoying customer. “We’ve got news.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Seraff was watching Ezra and Crowley with thinly-veiled interest.

Crowley chewed a bite of chicken very slowly before setting down his fork. “I’m moving to Oxford this summer. Gonna open a shop.”

Across the table, Ezra’s dad’s grip on his spoon tightened. “Why?”

“Ezra’s going to be going to school there,” Crowley said with a shrug, turning his interest toward the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate.

A short, stunned silence fell over the table, and Crowley took a big bite of potatoes. The longer the silence lasted, the more Ezra felt the happiness in his chest start to fade. Maybe they hadn’t thought this through. It _was_ a foolish idea, but he’d thought it was a good one, and Crowley was more than willing…

“You’re sure your parents will be alright with that?” Ezra’s mum asked, quirking a concerned eyebrow in Crowley’s direction.

Crowley grunted. “They won’t care.”

Mr. Seraff’s fist hit the table with enough force that it made a glass of water tip over, but no one moved to clean it up. “Don’t you think you should _ask_ them first, Anthony? Bloody hell.”

  
Ezra cast a furtive glance in Crowley’s direction, finding that he was completely out of ideas on how to turn the conversation away from the topic of Crowley’s family. To his surprise, Crowley let out a long-suffering sigh and said, “Well… no.” Before either of Ezra’s parents could protest, he rushed into a sentence that shocked Ezra so much he nearly fell out of his chair. “I suppose it’s time you knew the truth, seeing as I’m hanging around here a lot and dating your son and all.” A muscle in Ezra’s father’s jaw jumped at the reminder of his son’s gay relationship, but he didn’t say anything.

For his part, Ezra was completely gobsmacked. He reached over and linked his fingers through Crowley’s. “Anthony… are you _sure_?” He was relieved, of course, and knew that Crowley couldn’t very well back out of this now, but there was still a part of him that wanted to check. Ezra just wanted to be sure that Crowley knew what he was getting himself into (which Crowley did, and despite his calm exterior, was most definitely terrified about).

Crowley winked one of his golden eyes at Ezra and shot him a tiny, shaky smile. “Yeah. They… erm, they should know.”

“Yeah,” Ezra said faintly.

“Yeah.”

“What the _sodding blasted shit_ are the two of you going on about?” Gabe, who was still miffed that he’d been interrupted, was getting a bit impatient.

Mrs. Seraff leveled a glare at her middle son. “ _Language_ , Gabriel! Honestly.” Then, she turned to Ezra and Crowley and raised an eyebrow, signalling for them to answer the (rudely-put, but quite valid) question.

Crowley sighed and turned his hand over so he could hold Ezra’s properly, pressing their palms together. Ezra noted with concern that Crowley’s hand was sweaty, but he didn’t have time to think about that too much because Crowley had started talking. “I haven’t got parents to ask. Not anymore. They left me, when I was sixteen - the morning of my sixteenth birthday, actually, I just woke up and they’d gone - because they were sick of England and sick of me, and I legally could be on my own at age sixteen.” Ezra was watching Crowley, of course, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his mum’s jaw drop open as she reached for his father’s hand. “I’ve been on my own since then, pretty much. There’s a family lawyer who checks in on me every so often, y’know, so I’m not totally alone, but for the most part… I haven’t got anyone, really.” He glanced over at Ezra and smiled. “Well, that’s not true. I’ve got Ezra, and I suppose - well, I don’t want to assume, but I think - I’ve also got all of you.”

Ezra squeezed Crowley’s hand, the pride in his chest swelling so much it made his ribs ache. His family, though, looked anything but proud. His father had gone as white as the peeling paint on the cabinets behind him, and he was clutching his wife’s hand like his life depended on it. Gabe was slouched down in his chair, frowning at the tablecloth and looking (to Ezra’s delight and relief) ever-so-slightly horrified. Ezra’s mum, though, looked downright _murderous_. She’d gotten past her shock, apparently, because the way her eyes were blazing scared Ezra a little.

“They did _what_?” It was said quietly, which seemed rather inappropriate for the situation, but Ezra could see that his mum was trying very hard not to yell (which was odd because Ezra had never in his life heard his mother raise her voice). In a flash, she turned her burning eyes onto Ezra. “You knew about this, Ezra?”

 _Fuck_ , thought Ezra at the same time that he said, “Yes, but I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“You should have told us, lad.” Mr. Seraff’s voice was rougher than normal, but there was also something mildly compassionate about it.

“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Crowley hummed a little in agreement but didn’t say anything else. He looked anxious, and Ezra realized that it was probably because he was expecting some sort of reprimand from Ezra’s parents. The reprimand didn’t come.

“Honey,” Ezra’s mum said softly, catching Crowley’s eye. “You’re always welcome here - you know that, we gave you the keys - and we’d be happy to have you spend holidays with us, if you’d like.” This hadn’t been discussed with her husband (obviously, because they hadn’t had time) but Ezra’s father didn’t raise any protest at all. Instead, he gave a swift nod of assent and went back to his dinner, some color finally returning to his face.

“Really?”

“Yes, of course!” Mrs. Seraff stood up and walked over to Crowley’s chair, wrapping her arms around his chest in a backwards hug and dropping a gentle kiss into his hair. “Everyone needs a family, Anthony.”

It was lucky that Crowley didn’t have anything in his mouth at that moment because he lost his breath so fast that he almost certainly would have started choking if he had. “F-family?” This word was a whisper, as though Crowley was afraid that if he said it too loudly, Someone above or below would hear and take it away from him.

“Yes.” Another kiss to the top of Crowley's head. “Family. You're welcome to join ours, Anthony, truly. We'd love to have you.”

It was impossible for Ezra to match words to the look on his boyfriend's face. There was a little fear, quite a bit of hope, a dash of joy, and something completely indescribable all mixed together to form a very confusing but very beautiful expression. _Very beautiful_ became _positively radiant_ a few moments later when Crowley started nodding so enthusiastically that his chin almost bumped into his chest, and the widest smile Ezra had ever seen in his life crept over Crowley's lips for a moment as "Oh, yes, please," flew out of his mouth. Ezra stifled a laugh; Crowley sounded so much like a child who'd just been informed that he'd be getting a puppy for his birthday that it was almost comical.

"Good. All settled, then." Mrs. Seraff gave Crowley a little smile and ruffled his hair. "Four sons is better than three, don't we think?"

At that, Ezra started _beaming_. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning over and catching Crowley’s stunned, half-open mouth in a chaste kiss, and he chose to ignore the grimace that flashed (just for a moment) across his father’s face. Ezra’s mum took her seat again - still looking more than just a bit furious, Ezra noted - and the meal was finished with careful quietness.

Crowley and Ezra retired to Ezra’s bedroom after dinner, leaving the door open a crack so Ezra’s father wouldn’t get any funny ideas about the kind of things they were getting up to. What they were actually “getting up to” was cuddling because Crowley was still a little shell-shocked and was in desperate need of some comfort. Ezra stripped off his jumper and button-down and laid down in his t-shirt, sighing happily as Crowley’s slender, flexible body wrapped itself around his sturdier one. They lay there for a while, Crowley nestling his face into Ezra’s chest and Ezra stroking the silky strands of Crowley’s hair, telling him stories about nothing in particular (Crowley had mentioned a few days previously that he really _did_ like the sound of Ezra’s voice, however much he made fun of it). Crowley ended up almost half on top of Ezra, one of his long legs wrapped around one of Ezra’s and his arm folded around Ezra’s shoulders. Eventually, his breathing started to slow down, and he fell asleep.

Crowley may have been sleeping, but Ezra was wide awake and staring at the ceiling. Crowley’s warm breath was tickling his neck, just above the hem of his shirt, and it was distracting him. He wondered vaguely how long it had been since Crowley had considered anyone a family; did he stop having one as soon as his parents left, or did he hold out hope that they might come back?

Ezra’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his parents having a hushed conversation in the hall. They must not have seen that his door wasn’t all the way closed. For a moment, Ezra thought about getting up to close it - his parents deserved their privacy, after all - but he knew he couldn’t do that without waking Crowley, so he tried not to listen in.

Well, he tried for a few minutes… maybe closer to one minute… actually, it was more like thirty seconds. The words “Well, having no parents explains quite a bit,” grabbed his attention, and he was very suddenly tuned in to the conversation.

“ _Really_ , Lawrence.” His mother’s reply was exasperated. “Of course it explains things, but you can’t blame everything you dislike about Anthony on that. His sexuality, for instance. It’s something he was born with, you know. Like Ezra.” There wasn’t a reply to that, but Ezra could imagine his father rolling his eyes. “Come on, dear. You know that poor boy needs a family, and we’ve got a perfectly good one right here.”

“I still think he’s trouble. I feel bad for him, of course I do, but he’s… he’s not one of us, darling. You can’t deny that.” Ezra stiffened a little at that and clenched his fist, but he relaxed again when Crowley made a little snuffling noise and buried his face in Ezra’s neck.

“He _needs_ a family. And yes, I will grant you that he’s not like us - he doesn’t know what it’s like to live like we do, he has no faith to speak of, and he’s a bit reckless - but he still deserves to be loved, dear.” In his mind’s eye, Ezra imagined his mother taking his father’s hand and leaning in close. His father was a tough, hard man, but his wife softened his edges and made him more… more _human_. Less like an emotionless prison warden and more like a schoolboy with a penchant for following the rules a little too well.

The reply was gruff but resigned. “I know.”

“He’s never done anything to hurt Ezra. Or us. He’s… foolish, because he’s a teenage boy with no parents, but he’s been nothing but kind to us.” A pause. “Remember Christmas? It wasn’t that long ago. Anthony was thoughtful and sweet, and he didn’t cause anything bad to happen.”

There was a long silence, and then Ezra heard his father sigh (rather dramatically, he thought). “Yes, you’re right.”

“He needs us.”

“Yes, he does.”

"If I ever find his parents, I'm going to kill them." If Ezra hadn't already been listening very closely, he would have started to at that. "Honestly, dear. How could someone _do_ that to their child? He's just a boy. Boys need their parents, and anyone worth their salt knows that." There was an unprecedented amount of venom in his mother's voice, and Ezra loved her for it. 

His father's deep, rumbling laugh filled the air. "If you find them, call me, and I'll help you. I may not always see eye-to-eye with their son-" 

"Understatement," Ezra's mum interrupted with a giggle. 

"Oi, hush. Anyway. I may not always agree with Anthony, but no one deserves to live alone without a family. No one." There was a soft sigh and the conversation dropped for a moment, but Ezra's father picked it up again (he'd decided that he wanted to lighten the mood a bit). "When we find the Crowleys, I'll hold them down, and you can hit them with a cricket bat, okay?" 

Another of his mother's laughs echoed down the hallway before fading into silence. Ezra pictured his parents sharing a kiss in the hallway (which is what they were, in fact, actually doing). “I love you, Lawrence.”

“I love you, too, you know.”

Something in Ezra’s chest twinged. He wanted to say that to the boy who was currently curled around him, drooling a little onto his neck. He wanted so badly to say it every day, every time Crowley rolled his golden eyes or teased him about his clothes or pushed him into a wall and kissed him like he needed to do so to keep breathing. Ezra wanted to tell Crowley that he loved him a hundred times a day, a thousand times a week, forever. But he couldn’t, not yet. It seemed to Ezra that telling the person you love that you love them requires something a bit more special than a post-big-secret-reveal snuggle on a lumpy bed in a flat in a slightly shady corner of London, so he resolved himself to wait.

 _For the right moment_ , Ezra thought, humming a little in the back of his throat when Crowley’s soft lips brushed his Adam’s apple. _He deserves the right moment. He deserves every single right moment, from now until the end of time._

And then Crowley woke up, and yellow eyes met blue, and Ezra stole a small kiss from Crowley’s sleepy lips. Maybe things weren’t perfect just yet. Maybe Ezra’s father was hesitant about Crowley still, and maybe the Seraffs wouldn’t be a good enough family for Crowley in the end. Maybe things would break before Ezra even got to say “I love you,” or maybe they would continue on as they were, or maybe (hopefully) they would get even better. But Ezra didn’t focus on the maybes just then. He didn’t have to, you see, because in that moment everything was quiet and beautiful and good, and Ezra’s mouth was on Crowley’s, and he was in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of y’all are super freaking talented (looking at you here, delusioninabox). My ~new friend~ to whom I dedicated this piece rewarded me with a piece of absolutely stunning art, which can be found on her Tumblr [here](https://delusioninabox.tumblr.com/post/186152633962/ezra-and-anthony-from-hopeinthedarks-fic-a#disqus_thread). 
> 
> I'm also now on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hope-inthedark)! Come say hi :)
> 
> Also, if you would like to make any sort of creative work (art, podfic, whatever) based on this or any of my stories, consider this blanket permission to do so! I only ask that you would tag me in your work so that I can see it and share it! Thank you for being here, and thank you for reading. I hope you are having the best day!


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